Is the Bernie Chair on Ikea?

This article was written in January 2021, during the viral Bernie Sanders inauguration-chair meme moment. At the time, the image of Bernie sitting in his chair and winter coat was everywhere. We’ve heard the stories that it’s literally his only winter coat and that the mittens were made by a friend in Essex Junction, Vermont.  He donated some and she made him more.

But then, somebody came up with a brilliant meme of the Bernië.  Yes, notice the brilliant e-diaeresi. Whoever made this went so far as to include the e.

Well, the sad reality is, we don’t think it’s accurate.

Why It Wasn’t a Real IKEA Product

Three basic reasons.

First,  sadly I don’t think the e with two dots is common in  Swedish or even used in Swedish.

The second reason is that the old Ogilvy page that housed the image is no longer active.

There is a meme going around that you’ll see here:   Facebook.

Finally, and most revealingly, a search of IKEA at the time did not yield the product. That did not stop people from calling stores, but the search came up blank.

The Joke Was Better Than the Product

Now, don’t feel sad. A folding chair is a folding chair. That said, the meme quickly spread into merchandise too. Or, you can just sit in a chair and think about how awesome Bernie is and how comfortable he looks.